Mike Triana, CRPS

Mike Triana is an IRA consultant on the Retirement Consulting Services team at Commonwealth Financial Network®, member FINRA/SIPC, the nation's largest privately held Registered Investment Adviser–independent broker/dealer. With the firm since May 2011, Mike assists advisors and Commonwealth staff on a variety of retirement-related topics, ranging from traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and SEP/SIMPLE IRAs to distributions, beneficiary options, and portability. Mike earned a degree in economics from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, with a concentration in management. He holds the CRPS® designation and FINRA Series 7, 24, and 66 securities registrations.

Information about securities-registered professionals may be found at FINRA BROKERCHECK.

Roth IRAs can be extremely efficient retirement savings vehicles. They are funded on an after-tax basis, and as a long as certain requirements are met, distributions are free of tax and penalty.

Clients can fund their Roth IRA in one of two ways: via annual Roth contributions or by converting assets from a qualified plan or another type of IRA they already own. But whereas annual Roth contributions are subject to modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) limits, Roth conversions are not. It’s one of the reasons any of your clients could decide to convert assets to a Roth IRA.

For beneficiaries who inherit IRA assets, there are a variety of options available for transferring funds from a deceased individual’s account. Unfortunately, having too many choices can complicate an already difficult situation. But what if you could help ensure a smooth and less stressful transition for your clients? By understanding the intricacies of the transfer process and the rules involved, you can do just that.

With this in mind, here are nine questions (and answers) to help you and your clients better understand IRA transfers and beneficiary distribution accounts (IRA-BDAs).

As you may know, a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) is a payment made directly from an IRA to an organization that is eligible to receive charitable donations. Although the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act made QCDs permanent in 2015, there are specific requirements and circumstances that must be met before an IRA owner can make a QCD. To help you understand the ins and outs of this charitable distribution—and be a go-to resource for your clients—I’ve compiled the following common questions and answers about QCDs.